Gods of the Wasteland 2: Call To Arms
by rhmagoon19
Summary: After the attack on Canterbury Commons, Norton, the Lone Wanderer, has made his way to the Citadel, hoping to convince the Brotherhood of Steel that the Vanguard is a threat. But, will bad blood block his intentions? Meanwhile, the Vanguard will declare war, attempting a drastic move never seen in the history of the Wasteland. The sequel to Gods of the Wasteland: The Drums of War
1. Prologue

Prologue

Megaton had never seemed emptier, in Nova's opinion. It had only been a month and a half since Norton left, but she missed him more every day. God she was stupid! Why hadn't she married him? Why hadn't she said she loved him every day? Now, it was too late and he was gone.

It was hot, dry afternoon and Nova stood in her little corner of Moriarty's Saloon, like she did every day. No one had bought her yet, so that was good. She definitely was not in the mood for some jerk to be feeling her up for the next hour.

"Hey!" yelled Moriarty from across the saloon. "Have you made me any money today?"

"No, sir." She said.

"Well I'm docking your pay!"

Moriarty was probably the biggest asshole to ever crawl out of the Wastes. Nova and Gob were slaves to him, mostly because whatever money they earned was heavily taxed by him or deducted for some unknown reason. Nova would complain, if there had been anyone to complain to. Over the years, she had come to terms with the fact that she would never earn enough to leave Megaton.

The door opened and three men came in. Nova had never seen them before. Even though she hated it, she flashed them her most seductive grin. One of the men, a tall fellow in a duster, tipped his hat to her before he went to the bar with his buddies.

"What can I get you?" asked Gob.

Nova wasn't surprised to see that unknown people had come to town. It had been happening a lot lately. Something about Raiders moving south. She was surprised that the Brotherhood didn't have control on it by now. Really, she didn't care. All the people who came in spent good money.

"Are you Gob?" One of the men, the one if the duster, asked.

"Yeah." Gob replied. "What's it to ya?"

The man in the duster pulled a silenced pistol out of his waistband and pointed it at Gob's chest.

"My boss wants you to know that you're dead because of Norton." The man said, pulling the trigger three times. Gob stepping back, blood covering his white shirt. He looked at Nova with sorrow, then fell to the floor, dead.

Moriarty stood where he was, in fear. For a second, Nova thought he might help. But, as expected, he ran out the door as fast as he could.

"And this pretty little thing must be Nova." One of the men said. "Zeke was right. She's cute. No wonder Norton likes her."

Norton? Zeke? What did they have to do with anything. Wasn't Zeke the guy who worked for Walter? She was so confused. The one of the men, this one wearing a baseball cap, grabbed her by the front of the shirt, pulling her close to him. She felt the muzzle of a gun on her stomach.

"That same goes for you." He said. "You're dead because of Norton. This is his fault."

Nova reached into her pocket and pulled out a switchblade. It had been Norton's idea. Protection. She quietly thanked him now. He plunged the knife into the man's throat and he let out a sick, gargling sound.

The two other men fired at her, but their partner's body blocked the bullets. The front suddenly opened and Jericho and Billy Creel entered, guns drawn. Jericho fired, killing one man. Billy missed the second, but Jericho hit him with the butt of his rifle, knocking him to the ground.

"Nova." Billy said. "You okay, darling?"

"I'm fine." She choked out. "They…they shot Gob. I think he's dead."

"Lucas is dead too." Said Billy.

"What?" Nova asked.

"And someone attacked Moira. Good thing she hired that guard. He took the bullet, not her."

"Good thing I was shopping or else they would have got her." Said Jericho, checking Gob for a pulse.

"How'd you know to come get me?" Nova asked.

"After Moira was attacked Moriarty ran out of here, saying that someone was shooting up his place. We got here as soon as possible."

Nova looked at Gob's body. What was going on? Such an average day had turned so terrible. And somehow, her beloved Norton was at the center of it. Nova swallowed and looked at Jericho and Billy.

"Something is going on." She said. "We need the Brotherhood."

The two men looked at her as if she was crazy. But, by looking in her eyes, they realized she was dead serious.


	2. Chapter 1

1

The morning was actually cool, something that few people experienced. From his nest in the hills, Norton could see miles of Wasteland. Buildings dotted the horizon and he knew that among them was the Citadel. They could reach it within a few hours. But for now, Norton sat in the boulders, Butch's sniper rifle cradled in his arms, waiting.

He watched as a wild dog starting running in the field, looking for nothing in particular. Norton remembered his own dog for a minute. Dogmeat, who he had found wandering an abandoned junkyard. That had loved him to the end, jumping on a landmine to save his master in the D.C. Ruins.

Norton lifted the rifle and led the dog, pulling to trigger at the right moment. The bullet hit the dog in the side of the neck and it went down, lying still in the dirt. Norton set the rifle down and stood, grabbing his side as he did so. There was still some slight pain in his ribs from the multiple breaks, but Rosas check them every night and had concluded that they were nearly healed.

The walk out to the dog took him a short time. As he reached it, he pulled out his combat knife and began skinning it. Hunting was one thing that took his mind off of all the problems he had been facing. The Vanguard, his attack on Canterbury Commons, everything. Hunting calmed him down.

With the dog gutted and skinned, Norton carried it back up to camp. Rosas, Kodiak, and Butch were still asleep in their bedrolls, but Elliot was awake, reading a book. With a glance, Norton saw that it was _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes. _As Norton entered camp, Elliot marked his page and put the book down.

"How was hunting?" He asked. Elliot had never meant to be a soldier. In fact, he joined the Brotherhood to be a Scribe, but they were only recruiting soldiers. Elliot, who had a young wife named Marlene and an infant daughter named Isabelle, needed the money and the Citadel, so his family would be safe, had agreed to the job.

"This is all I got." Norton said, starting a fire from the coals of the one they had the night before. "But this is probably enough. We can reach the Citadel today."

"Finally." Elliot said, sitting up. "You know how many blisters I got from this damn hike? Seven! I counted them, man."

Norton chuckled as he starting cutting strips of meat off of the dog, laying them on cleaned rocks around the fire, slowly cooking them. With that done, he sat on his bedroll to watch them cook.

"So, how do you think it's going to go down at the Citadel?" asked Elliot, adjusting his glasses.

"I'm not sure." Norton answered. "I haven't been there in years. Not since I helped them send the Enclave packing."

"Why'd you never go back? I'm sure you made friends."

"Enemies, actually. My only friends were in Lyon's Pride, and they were constantly on missions. And Elder Lyons…we'll just say that he wasn't fond of me after what happened at the Jefferson Memorial."

"After Sarah Lyons died?" Elliot asked. His face showed he instantly regretted saying it. "Sorry man. I didn't mean…"

"It's fine, Elliot." Norton assured him. He hadn't dreamed about Sarah lately, and he was okay with that. "Yes. That's why he doesn't like me. Lyons is the kind of man who likes to blame someone, even if that person couldn't help what happened."

"I can tell." Said Elliot. "One time, when I was an Initiate, someone accidently lit a training dummy on fire. And as punishment, he made our entire group run four miles!"

"How do you accidently light a dummy on fire?" asked Norton.

"Give a kid who's never held a gun in his life a Flamer, that's how."

The two sat and talk while the meat cooked. At some point, Norton found a pot and put it in the fire, dumping in a can of Pork n' Beans. It wasn't breakfast, but it was a meal. Once the smell of food filled the air, the camp began to stir.

"Are those beans?" asked Kodiak, sitting up and wiping his eyes."God, I live the smell of beans in the morning."

"My mother used to make the best beans." Comment Rosas, who was up and cleaning his plasma rifle. "She made all sorts of things with them. Enchiladas, _Frijoles de la Olla. _You name it."

"Well now I'm starving!" Elliot exclaimed. "When is the food going to be done, man?"

"Couple minutes." Said Norton, stirring the beans.

Butch had awoken while they talked and made his way to his feet, using his cane for support. He limps over to Lucy, his trained Brahmin. The cow looked at him with her two heads, almost with love.

"Morning, girl." He said, rubbing her side. He pulled out two handfuls of grass and fed each head equally. Then, he filled two pots from his pack with dirty water and gave it to the Brahmin, who drank with gusto.

"Foods ready." Norton said. Everyone lined up and Norton filled their plates with beans and dog. Then, they all sat down and ate. This was probably the most they had eaten since they left Canterbury.

"My favorite." Elliot joked. "Dog ala Norton."

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Rosas asked him.

"Only if I'm asleep or dead." The young soldier said. "And I've only been one of those.

Twenty minutes later, they were packed up and moving. Each man carried a pack, containing only the essentials they needed. The rest was strapped onto Lucy, along with Butch, who rode with his cane across his lap.

They had not wanted to risk making a straight line towards the Citadel, cutting through a section of the D.C. ruins, so they made a berth and passed through the Wheaton armory. There had been a platoon of Brotherhood soldiers there, led by Paladin Covarrubias. They did not have a radio, but sent six men towards Canterbury after learning about the attack there.

Now, they were reaching civilization. Or, what was left of it. The first landmark Norton noticed was the Chryslus Building. IT towered amongst the other rubble, and was not hard to spot.

"My intel says that the last time I patrol came through here, they were ambushed by Super Mutants at that building." Kodiak said. "Stay sharp. We don't know if they're still there or not."

It was another sign that things were still bad. Even with all the healing going on elsewhere in the Wasteland, the Ruins of the once great city were still full of hives of Super Mutants, little pockets spread throughout. The Brotherhood did their best to hold them back, but sometimes it wasn't enough.

They neared the Chryslus Building, guns drawn. Elliot and Kodiak carried laser rifles, Rosas carried his precious plasma rifle, and Norton had his .44 pistol drawn. Butch sat on Lucy's back, his sniper rifle ready. They couldn't hear any movement, so they went passed the building quickly, glad once it was behind them.

"How are you guys on ammo?" Butch asked. "I got like…six shots left."

"I'm okay." Said Norton. Before reaching Wheaton, they had found another small colony, named New Anacostia. They had bought supplies there, and also warned the people of a possible attack. They radioed a nearby Brotherhood patrol who agreed to watch the town.

They soon reached Farragut West Metro Station. Norton had memories of the place, which had been a regular camp for Raiders and the occasionally Super Mutant. As the reached the plaza, they looked across the river at Wilhelm's Wharf, a tiny settlement with one resident, an elderly woman named Grandma Sparkle. From where they stood, Norton could see smoke coming from her chimney.

"Alright, we'll cross here." Said Kodiak. The water is pretty swallow. Can your Brahmin swim, Butch?"

"Probably." Butch said. "I'll lead her as best as I can."

"Hey!"

The voice came from their left and they all looked. Six Raiders stood in the plaza. Only one, the leader, had a gun, and it was a dingy assault rifle that looked like it would easily jam. The other carried various melee weapons. Knives, tire irons, bats.

"You're trespassing on our land!" The Head Raider said.

"This land belongs to the Brotherhood." Kodiak declared. "If anything YOU'RE trespassing. I should kill you. But I won't. Just because I'm a good guy and we have places to be. So why don't you and your friends head back down into your tunnels and hide."

"You're…you're Brotherhood?" The Head Raider asked.

"That explains our Power Armor and energy weapons." Elliot joked. It seemed to go over all the Raider's heads.

"Please…we need help." The Head Raider said. "They're after us."

"Who's after you?" Kodiak asked him.

"Found you!" A gravelly voice roared.

Everyone, even the Raiders, turned and looked. Two Super Mutants had emerged from the ruins. One carried a hunting rifle, grenades strapped to his belt. The second held a minigun firmly in his fists.

"Shit!" The Head Raider yelled, turning his gun on the Super Mutants. He fired six shots, all of them missing, before the gun jammed. As he tried to clear it, the Super Mutant sprint to him and grabbed his whole head in his fist. He picked up the Raider and slammed his body down. Norton heard several bones break and the Raider's screams.

The rest of the Raiders stood, horrified as their leader was slammed repeatedly into the ground, his limbs breaking like sticks.

Kodiak and Rosas fired at the Mutant. A shot from Kodiak's laser rifle hit its bicep, burning it. It yelled out and dropped the Raider, grabbing its arm. The shot would have put a man on the ground, but this freak barely felt it. It roared and charged them.

Norton and the rest began firing. The Super Mutant got shot six times before it went down, lying on the concrete in pain. During the gunfight, they had forgotten about the second Mutant, who had turned on the Raiders. Laughing, it began firing the minigun. The Raiders screamed and ran, but it was no use. They were all dead in a few moments.

The Super Mutant turned to them, but its head suddenly exploded. Norton looked to see that the shooter was Butch, his trusty rifle in hand.

"Well that went well." Elliot said.

Quickly, they searched the bodies. The fighting might draw more Mutants or even more Raiders. Inspection showed that the minigun was in terribly condition, but it still had two dozen or so rounds left, so Kodiak grabbed them. The Raiders had almost nothing, but one had a Stimpak tucked into his back pocket.

Rosas stood over the Head Raider who, impossibly, was still alive. Norton had almost no medical training, but he knew that the man's arms and legs were severely broken, along with some internal bleeding. There was no way he'd live.

"It hurts so much!" The Raider groaned out.

"Not for long, _hermano._" Said Rosas, kneeling by the Raider's side. He pulled out four syringes of Med-X and plunged all four into the Raider at once.

"That's too much, Rosas." Butch said.

"I know." Rosas answered. "That amount will cause him to overdose in a few minutes, but he'll feel no pain. Even now, he's falling asleep. It's much kinder than a bullet."

"That was nice of you." Said Norton, putting a hand on Rosas' shoulder.

"I was like him once." Rosas said. "Scared, hurt. Barely surviving. Killing innocent men just so I could eat. The Brotherhood gave me a second chance. An opportunity to help people like this. People like I used to be."

"Well let's not waste it." Kodiak said. "Another hour and we'll be at the Citadel. Let's get moving."


End file.
